The latest addition to the Mario Kart series promises a renewed focus on multiplayer action.

Unveiled at the Nintendo Direct event at E3, Mario Kart 8 will see Mario, Yoshi, Princess Peach and the rest of the crew once again burning it up around crazy fantasy racetracks. The big twist this time is the ability to flat-out defy gravity: You'll race along walls, upside down on ceilings and even deploy wings to glide through the sky. Holding your breath will be a handy skill to have too, as some tracks will even take the racing action underwater.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata didn't go into details during the presentation but said the game will offer the best collection of online racing modes in the series to date. Look for Mario Kart 8 to hit the track (and the Wii U) in the spring of 2014.

Prediction: rather than simply "steering" your car with normal, last gen joysticks, Mario Kart 8 will use a revolutionary touch-screen swipe control method, tentatively titled 'metroid'. By sliding coloured tiles around on the screen, racers will experience a fast and smooth driving experience like never before. Nintendo believes this will re-invent the cart racing genre.

Please say they take it back to eight racers on the track, twelve was too many! Oh and battles which aren't focused on points would be appreciated Nintendo... other than that, looks pretty nice, may have to consider getting a Wii U if some other good games get put out on the console.

So I'm looking at that snapshot where Luigi's kart's wheels turned into hover-thingies and I get flashbacks to Crash Nitro Kart.Is there gonna be a plot where some alien overlord threatens to blow up the Mushroom Kingdom if Mario and pals don't race for his amusement?